What Do You Mean,Fastest-selling Single in the UK to Date
Pop singer Justin Bieber has scored his first UK number one track with What Do You Mean, his fastest-selling single in the UK to date.
It is only the third time the Canadian has had a solo Top 10 song in the UK, and his first since 2012's Boyfriend.
That number two hit notched up sales of 55,000, a total well beaten by his new song's combined sales total of 84,000.
What Do You Mean has had more than 21 million streams worldwide on Spotify, setting a new record for the service.
In the UK alone it has racked up 3.2 million plays on streaming services, the most any single has recorded in the UK in its first week.
The previous record was set last month by One Direction, whose Drag Me Down had 2.03 million plays in its first week on release.
Bieber's chart triumph comes at the expense of last week's number one, Rachel Platten's Fight Song, which drops one place to two.
Apple puts TCI on its main page
TCI is placed on the main page as Apple displays the country’s name and location in its new iOS 9 Preview. The multinational technology company known for its series of iPods, iPhones, iPads, and personal computers has highlighted the TCI for it’s beautiful, blissful beaches, scenery and as a perfect honeymoon location.
This cool highlight by Apple is sure to give the TCI more than 15 minutes of fame.
The Sainsbury's 2015 School Games kicked off in style last night with a spectacular Opening Ceremony at the Manchester Arena
The young athletes, who will be competing across 12 sports over the next three days, were paraded through the arena before a host of entertainment wowed the crowd.
The Wire Gymnastics Club from Warrington, the Queen Elizabeth Academy Dance Group and singer Holly Fallon were just a few of the performers on display, while the Voice in a Million choir made sure to get the crowd involved with a rousing rendition of 'Superheroes' by the Script.
In addition to the UK pupils, there were also international contingents from Brazil, Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands as the Sainsbury's 2015 School Games, supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, promises to be a tightly contested affair.
Of the 61 athletes representing Great Britain at the 2015 World Athletics Championships last month, 17 were School Games alumni and one of those, Dina Asher-Smith, was on hand to officially declare the Sainsbury's 2015 School Games open alongside triple world swimming champion Adam Peaty.
Dina, who is the fastest woman in British history over both 100m and 200m and competed at the 2012 edition of the event, also joined Olympic gold medallist Jason Gardener to give a sprinting masterclass yesterday morning.
"When I competed at the Sainsbury's School Games, I remember making loads and loads of friends from all the different sports," she said.
"We met gymnasts, people who did table tennis, cyclists - it was so much fun.
"It's the closest thing we get on home soil to mimicking an Olympic Games and it's a great opportunity for the athletes to experience the multi-sport environment and high-quality competition."
The Sainsbury's 2015 School Games is supported by a range of partners including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Sport England, Youth Sport Trust, Department of Health and British Paralympic Association.
In total, 1,600 athletes will strut their stuff in Manchester this weekend, with some already in action on Thursday as both the boys and girls hockey group games got underway at The Armitage Sports Centre.
It was England White and England Blue who set the tone for the girls with 4-1 and 3-0 wins over Wales and England Red respectively.
Meanwhile in the boys' pool games, England Blue edged an entertaining match against England Red 6-4 and reigning champions England White showed they have no intention of relinquishing their title as they defeated Wales 2-0.
"As any team in any tournament you want to get off to a cracking start," said England White captain, and scorer of the second goal, Alex Kingston.
"And with a win like that, with the confidence we had in the second half, we have learnt our lessons and we're going strong into our next match.
"We want the gold medal. We've done lots of training and selections to get picked, it's been a year-long process to get up to it and being here now taking part in this event is great."
WAKE UP, wake up Turks and Caicos, today is the only day that Team TCI will compete, so please watch our two athletes, Colby Jennings and Sanadia Forbes do their thing. You can watch them via live streamingwww.2015schoolgames.com. Here they are at the Stadium ready to represent TCI at their best. Sanadia is running at 7:45 am and jumping at 11:15 am. Colby is running at 7:30 am and again at 11:00 am. These are all TCI times, so you have an opportunity to watch at least 2 events before heading out to work. Wish them well.
Kim Davis In Jail For A Week
A county in the US state of Kentucky has started issuing marriage licenses to gay couples after the county clerk was jailed for refusing to do so. Kim Davis, an elected official in Rowan County, has said the Supreme Court's ruling conflicts with her beliefs as a born-again Christian.
Some of her deputies began processing the licenses on Friday. giving one to a gay couple previously denied one. The US Supreme Court declared gay marriage legal in June.
On Thursday she denied herself the opportunity to be released from jail after refusing a judge's request to allow her clerks to issue licenses. US District Judge David Bunning said Ms Davis could remain in prison for up to a week.
Five deputy clerks later told the judge they would comply with the court order and started issuing marriage licenses on Friday morning. But Ms Davis's son, who is a sixth deputy clerk, refused.
Imports increased in Turks and Caicos by 8.5%
The Strategic Policy and Planning Department (SPPD) announced today that imports for the first half year increased by 8.5%.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Merchandise imports totaled approximately $208 million for the first half of 2015, representing an increase of $16.3 million or 8.5% when compared to the same period last year. Exports from the Turks and Caicos Islands during this period were valued at $2.1 million when compared to $3.8 million during the first half of 2014. This resulted in an overall merchandise trade balance of approximately -$205.9 million during the first half of 2015 and the worsening of the overall trade balance by more than 10.4 percent or $9.6 million.
"Due to the current growth that is taking place in the tourism sector, the attraction of direct investment, the projected growth in the construction sector of the TCI economy and the lack of a more diversified group of exports, it is likely that the trade imbalance will continue to increase in the foreseeable future," stated Acting Director of SPPD, Mr. Shirlen Forbes.
"The rising imports however, could be looked at in a positive light. As a country with high value of imports, the increase in imports may also be reflecting the uptick in activity taking place in the TCI economy, showing that Turks and Caicos consumers are buying and developing more. Evidence of this can be seen in the increase of motor vehicle imports by 61.5% during the first half of 2015 when compared to the same period last year.
"This undoubtedly reflects the significant increase in motor vehicles from Asia. Motor vehicles imports at the Grand Turk Port and Providenciales South Dock Port increased by 112.4% and 110% respectively. The increase in motor vehicle imports made Machinery and Transport equipment, by far the largest expenditure, amounting to $58.2 million, or 28.0% of total imports when analyzing the data using Standard International Trade Classification (SITC)."
Given the performance of Merchandise trade during the 1st half of this year, SPPD is forecasting that imports will increase by more than 22% for the 2015 calendar year, whereas exports will experience a decline of more than 5 percent.
US economy adds 173,000 jobs in August
The US added 173,000 jobs in August, the Department of Labor said on Friday, in the last unemployment report before September's interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve.
That was below the 217,000 predicted by analysts, although the Labor Department said that figures for August tend to be revised higher subsequently.
The unemployment rate fell to 5.1% - down from the July figure of 5.3%.
The rate is the lowest since April 2008.
Wall Street headed lower following the numbers, with the S&P 500 falling 1.3% and the Dow Jones industrial average shedding more than 200 points or 1.2%.
European stock markets, which had been trading lower before the data was released, extended their losses, with the FTSE 100 in London down 2% and indexes in Paris and Frankfurt dropping about 2.5%.
Source:BBC
CARIBBEAN RESORT OWNERS, MANAGERS QUEUE UP FOR CHTA'S HOTEL IDEA EXCHANGE FORUM OCT. 2-4, OFFERS ENGAGEMENT WITH REGION'S INNOVATIVE HOTELIERS
The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association's (CHTA) inaugural Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF) has drawn attention of innovative hoteliers from across the region as well as top speakers from a variety of industry segments. This long-needed networking and educational conference will take place Oct. 2-4 in Puerto Rico.
"The objective of this not-to-miss event is to bring together all segments of the marketplace designed to help industry professionals save money, earn more money and create operating efficiencies at small, midsize and large properties," said Emil Lee, president of CHTA. "The concepts that will be presented are practical and executable ideas that will help to improve profitability," Lee added.
"There has been nothing like CHIEF in the Caribbean for the past two decades and we are excited that the event is working as planned to bring together the industry," said Lee. "We are finding that CHIEF is filling a void in the conference agenda via sessions targeted to sales, operations and sustainability as evidenced by hoteliers' inclination to register multiple individuals from each departmental area," Lee added.
CHIEF is designed to help hoteliers compete effectively in the 21st Century. Many of the sessions are devoted to helping small, independent hotels while others have been developed to assist the large chain hotels compete in the difficult Caribbean environment.
Overall, the program is structured to bring all segments of the marketplace together for networking and ultimately working more closely to grow tourism. "We are seeing a high level of interest from several of our trailblazing hotel owners and managers" said Lee.
Sandals Resorts International Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Adam Stewart along with other Sandals employees will be among the feature attendees and speakers at CHIEF.
Stewart commented, "Our industry is in a constant state of change. The travel distribution channels of today are likely to differ in the future. Our success is predicated on our ability to anticipate change and adapt to reach our customers and address their needs. CHTA's CHIEF event will bring top-level thinking to the table to add greater insight into our business planning. It's important for the region's hoteliers to come together at events like CHIEF. I look forward to being part of this important dialogue."
"I've got a small successful hotel, but I am always looking to see what others are doing so I can stay competitive," said Lorraine Wheatley, Co-Owner/Manager of the Anegada Reef Hotel, British Virgin Islands. "CHIEF offers me an opportunity to compare what both chain hotels and independent resorts are doing to stay ahead of the crowd," she added.
"I am looking forward to attending CHIEF to exchange experiences and to learn about best practices that my colleagues'/competitors are using," said Ewald Biemans, owner, Bucuti and Tara Beach Resorts in Aruba. "I also want to network with other industry executives to hear how we can maximize awareness in the global marketplace," he added.
Other notable attendees and speakers include: Nathan Lump, Travel + Leisure editor, Demetrius Canton, Expedia, Brian Payea, TripAdvisor and Gonzalo del Peon, AMResorts.
It is not too late to register for CHIEF, scheduled Oct. 2-4, 2015 at El Conquistador Resort, A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Puerto Rico. CHIEF registration and complete event details are available at www.chtachief.com. To register, email events@caribbeanhotelandtourism.com or call 786-476-8623.
CHIEF provides a forum for exchanging best tourism industry practices. The program includes peer-to-peer exchange sessions in Operations, Sales & Marketing, and sustainability which are focused on helping businesses generate revenue, reduce costs and increase efficiency. Hoteliers will walk away with practical business tips and best practices for tackling operational and marketing challenges. The educational tracks will be led by experts from a variety of travel, tourism and hospitality industry segments featuring roundtable panels.
CHIEF is organized with the support of hosts including Interval International and MasterCard; platinum sponsors Cable and Wireless and TravelZoo; gold sponsors Adara, AskMe, CaribbeanJobs.com, Choice Hotels International, Expedia, JackRabbit Systems Inc., OBMI, Oracle, Sojern, STR, The New York Times, TravAlliance Media and World Media.
CHIEF registration and complete event details are available at www.chtachief.com. To register, email events@caribbeanhotelandtourism.com or call 786-476-8623.
Kim Davis jailed for defying court orders on gay marriage
A US judge has ordered a Kentucky official jailed for contempt of court after she has repeatedly refused to issue marriage licences to gay couples.
Kim Davis, an elected official in Rowan County, has said that her Christian faith should exempt her from signing the licenses.
The US Supreme Court declared gay marriage legal in June.
Ms Davis, who has said she is obeying "God's law," has been escorted out of the courtroom.
"You can't be separated from something that's in your heart in your soul," said Ms Davis to US District Judge David Bunning, and said the Supreme Court's ruling conflicts with her beliefs as a born-again Christian. "I promised to love Him with all my heart, mind and soul because I wanted to make heaven my home."
The judge said he had "no alternative" but to jail her, because issuing fines would not change her mind.
"Her good faith belief is simply not a viable defence," said Mr Bunning. "Mrs Davis took an oath. Oaths mean things."
ECB cuts growth and inflation outlook
The European Central Bank (ECB) has cut its inflation and growth forecasts for 2015 and the next two years.
It expects inflation in the eurozone to remain "very low" for some years as threats to economic growth increase.
ECB president Mario Draghi said Europe's economic recovery would continue, "albeit at a somewhat weaker pace than expected".
The euro fell sharply as Mr Draghi also hinted that the bank could expand its stimulus programme if necessary.
He was speaking after the ECB kept its main interest rate on hold at 0.05%.
The ECB is now forecasting economic growth in the eurozone of 1.4% in 2015, down from 1.5%, and 1.7% in 2016, compared with its previous projection of 1.9%.
However, Mr Draghi said that risks to the outlook for economic growth and inflation had worsened since mid-August, when the latest projections were calculated.
UK Match.com site hit by malicious adverts
Malicious adverts have been found on the UK version of the Match.com dating website.
Anyone caught out by the booby-trapped ads could fall victim to ransomware, said security company Malwarebytes, which spotted the cyber-threat.
The malicious ads appeared on pages of the dating site via an ad network that pipes content to Match and many other places.
Match briefly suspended adverts on the UK site while it investigated.
"We take the security of our members very seriously indeed," it said in a statement. "Our security experts were able to identify and isolate the affected adverts, this does not represent a breach of our site or our users' data," it added.
Source:BBC